Parish Council

Dec 16

Letter from the Pastor
Fourth Week of Advent
December 18, 2022

When a pastor is transferred, the sitting parish council ceases. It is then up to the new pastor to form a new council. The formation of the new parish council has been in the top 5 of my “To-Do” list since I arrived. There were a few things keeping me from doing that but the time has come. I knew I needed time to get to know the parish community again before creating a new council. Although I was very familiar with the life and spirit of the parish, my memories were 20 years old. Now, I have a better understanding of the community as it is today. I have gotten to know you and you have gotten to know me.

When I arrived in September 2020 Covid was in full swing and the general rhythm of the parish was not. At this point, we seem to be adjusting to the “new normal” of living with Covid. Related with that, the parish life does seem to be finding its stride once again. Another concern I had when I first arrived was the financial situation of the parish. It too was greatly affected by Covid, but, truth be told, the financial issues of the parish had deeper roots than the pandemic. As reported in the 2022 Annual State of the Parish Report, the parish finance council and I have confidence that the two-pronged approach will move us closer to creating a fiscally sustainable future. This includes engaging the parish in a Stewardship program in the spring of 2023 and creating the first ever endowment for the parish from the sale of some of our properties.

As a consultative body, it is my hope that the parish council will help our community come to understand and live-out the pastoral mission of the parish. It would not get into the daily running of the parish but would take the larger and long-term perspective of our church community.

Our parish has a long and fruitful history but we know we cannot simply rely on what worked in the past. The world has changed and I believe our mode of evangelization must also change.

We all firmly believe that the message does not change: God is with us; God’s mercy is without end; and God continues to call all of us to find true joy and the fullness of life in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The task of the parish council is to help me and the pastoral staff to create a vision and pastoral plan for the parish. We will look at the reality of the world today and specifically our reality here on Long Beach Island and beyond as we ask the deeper questions of how best we can spread the Good News.

Stay tuned. After the New Year, I will begin the process of calling forth a new parish council so we can begin a new chapter for St. Francis of Assisi Parish & Center.